Important Information about Monday's Solar Eclipse
As you likely know, a total solar eclipse will occur on Monday, April 08, 2024. Even though Howell is not in the path of totality, this is still a very exciting astronomical event. However, the risk of eye injury to everyone, especially children who may not understand that the danger of looking directly at the sun is heightened during an eclipse. In Howell, the eclipse will begin at 2:40 p.m., reach near totality around 3:15 p.m., and end by 4:20 p.m. During this time, children are transitioning to their homes, after-school activities, and after-school care, which presents a challenge in providing sufficient adult supervision. Please remind your child that at no time will it be safe to look at the sun without the protection of authentic and properly certified eclipse viewing glasses. To learn more about our district's plan for the eclipse, please visit https://bit.ly/49vnKTf.
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Dear Hutchings Community,
This week, we took a moment to recognize the contributions of some great people at Hutchings Elementary School.
Paraprofessional Appreciation Day is observed annually on the first Wednesday in April. Hutchings Elementary School has a wonderful team of paraprofessionals who support our students, staff, and community. It was wonderful to celebrate their contributions two days ago on April 3.
It turns out that National School Librarian Day falls on April 4, which gave us the chance to also celebrate Mrs. Deurloo. Anyone who steps foot at Hutchings Elementary School would get the impression that we are readers. Mrs. Deurloo helps us send that message by creating great spaces and building systems that connect our readers with great books.
Finally, I want to celebrate our 5th Grade National Parks Expo, which happened just before Spring Break on Wednesday, March 20. The National Parks Expo existed before I ever arrived at Hutchings, and when COVID caused schools to operate differently, the fifth grade team adjusted the event accordingly. Eventually, we opened the Expo up again- I was dazzled by last year's event. This year's fifth grade group took their event to all new heights- we even had staff members from US Senator Stabenow and US Representative Slotkin's offices attend our event! If you want to know more, please check out this article: "Fifth Graders Shine at National Parks Expo". Thank you to all of our fifth graders and our fifth grade teachers: Mr. DeLand, Ms. Douglas, Mrs. Reis, and Mrs. Stolle.
More great things are on the horizon, too. Girls on the Run has begun and our Spring Concerts begin next week! We hope we'll be celebrating something soon with you at Hutchings.
Sincerely,
Ben Malecki
Principal
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District Updates:
Senior Survivor Kick-Off Carnival
Howell High School's Student Council is excited to launch this year's Senior Survivor Week with the Senior Survivor Kick-off Carnival. The carnival will be held on Friday, April 19, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the high school field house. There will be activities for all ages, including inflatables, games, a photo booth, entertainment, student performances, food trucks, crafts, raffles, prizes, and other attractions. Admission is $10 for children and students ages 3-18 and free for adults and children under 2. To learn more, please visit https://bit.ly/3qff1Ry.
2024 State of the District Event
On Thursday, April 18, at 6 p.m., we will host our State of the District event. During this event, Superintendent MacGregor will update district stakeholders on this district's innovative initiatives and programs, district initiatives, projects relating to the Our Kids, Our Community, Our Future bond, and our vision for the future. The event will be held in the Edinburg room at the district's administrative offices.
Family Educational Series
Please mark your calendars for the next installment of our family educational series webinar set for Thursday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. The April session is the ABCs of Substance Use and Vaping. During the webinar, families will learn about signs to watch for, signs of addiction, and ideas for talking to children about vaping and substance use. To learn more about April's session, please visit https://bit.ly/4cs34hG. To join the webinar on April 11, please visit https://cookcenter.info/April11Livingston.
Schoology/PowerSchool Grade and Assignment Issue
We have learned about an issue regarding confusing grading information for students in grades third through 12 in our learning management system, Schoology. While it is possible that grades can appear in Schoology, they should not be considered the official grade. Official grades are entered into PowerSchool. We recommend using Schoology to keep updated on the daily happenings in your child's class and PowerSchool to monitor attendance, grades, and assignments.
Pinwheels for Prevention
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. To raise awareness of child abuse prevention, our school is joining LACASA, and several businesses, community organizations, and other schools in displaying a pinwheel display in our office as part of LACASA's Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign. To read more about Pinwheels for Prevention, please visit http://bit.ly/3KHOtDj.
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Counselor's Corner:
Want happier and calmer children? It’s simple! Simplify their world.
Too much of anything can be stressful and overwhelming, no matter your age. For younger children, stress often presents as irritability, disruptive behavior, and even health issues. Here are three ways to help your child have a simpler life.
- Reduce Clutter: Keep only the toys and activities that your child consistently enjoys for long periods of time. You may be surprised at how creative your child can get with just a few simple toys.
- Loosen Up the Schedule: Take one or two things off the calendar and allow for more creative play and exploration.
- Quality Time, Quality Memories: While a well-planned and expensive family vacation is fun, the things that will most likely stand out to your child as memorable will be the simple family dinners, the bedtime stories, and picnics in the park.
To see the full article these ideas came from, click here.
As always, please reach out for more support or information.
Kristen Hogan
School Counselor
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Grade Level Spring Concerts begin next week!
- BK/KDG - 4/11 at 6 pm
- 1st - 4/25 at 6 pm
- 2nd - 4/11 at 7 pm
- 3rd - 4/25 at 7 pm
- 4th - 5/9 at 6 pm
- 5th - 5/9 at 7 pm
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Please note the following events, and consider joining in the fun!
Thursday, April 11 - PTO Meeting at Hutchings Elementary, 6 pm
Thursday, April 18 - Husky Skate Night at Rollerama from 6 - 9 pm
PTO's Spring Reading Fundraiser began on April 1st and will run through May 10th! As students read, Hutch, our reading caterpillar, will grow! So far, students have totaled enough reading time to add 859 segments to Hutch's caterpillar body. Keep up the great work, and check out the Hutchings PTO Facebook page for updates.
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